1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to communication systems and, more particularly, to an ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) communication system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Program controlled switching equipment for Servers connects communication terminal equipment to one another and to communications networks. Such systems typically require a system administration module, typically implemented in software, associated with each Server in order to handle administrative and control functions such as supervising Server call detail recording (CDR), moves, adds and changes (MAC), automated call detail statistics (ACD), and other types of data.
When only one Server exists in the network, it is a relatively simple matter to manage reassignment of communication lines, for example, and update Server applications. Increasingly, however, communications facilities such as private ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Networks) networks linking multiple sites exist, requiring a plurality of Servers to adequately handle the communication needs of the customer (e.g., a company may maintain a single intranet at multiple locations). Typically, data for each Server is stored locally with the particular Server and it can only be ported to a centralized location or to other Servers via remote access (i.e., external to the network) through the public switched telephone network (PSTN) or via manually transporting a diskette or magnetic tape.
Accordingly, there is a need for a system for globally administering data among a plurality of Servers in a network. There is a still further need for a system for making data available network-wide. There is a yet further need to provide a method for transporting data among a plurality of Servers with low overhead processing and confirmation of receipt.
These and other drawbacks in the prior art are overcome in large part by a generic transfer option according to the present invention. More particularly, the present invention provides a generic transport option whereby data may be made available via the network to any of a plurality of servers within the network. The data may be transported in either a broadcast or relay fashion on either ISDN B-channels or D-channels or a combination thereof.
According to one embodiment, the generic transport option is invoked by a system administrator module which defines what data type to send, the destination to which the data should be sent, the dissemination method, the mode of transport, the schedule, and which transport facility to be used. When the generic transport option has been invoked, the server acknowledges the control command and proceeds to set up the appropriate connection, prepares a predetermined portion of a data container with control header information, retrieves the proper data, and packs the data into the transport container. Further, confirmation is provided for each container sent that the message was received successfully.